1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a movie camera of a type wherein a still picture (hereinafter called a "still") can be photographed during a motion picture (hereinafter called a "movie") photography operation and when the illumination falling on an object is less than or equal to a predetermined value at the start of the still photography during the movie photography operation, stroboscopic flashes of light are produced from a strobe device to enable the still photography. Also, the present invention relates to a method of photographing the still with the movie camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has recently been widespread use of a movie camera in view of the fact that a movie can easily be photographed. When a photographer is photographing a movie of an object or subject using the movie camera, there has been a demand for the photography of a desired still of the object. That is, if it is possible to carry out the still photography during the movie photography operation and to continuously make the movie photography, a reproduced image of a desired still as well as a reproduced image of a continuous movie can be obtained.
When an image or picture photographed in a normal movie photography state is reproduced as a motionless picture, i.e., a still, there is often a situation in which blurring occurs in an object and hence a distinct image cannot be produced. This results from the fact that the shutter speed at the time of the movie photography is generally relatively longer, i.e., the shutter speed is set to 1/60 second. On the other hand, when a still photographed at a shutter speed of 1/250 second, for example, is reproduced as a movie, an object is awkward in its action, thus causing a problem that a movie which exhibits a smooth movement cannot be obtained.
Thus, when it is desired to cause a movie photographing function and a still photographing function to coexist with each other in the conventional movie camera, it is actually difficult to apply both of the still and the movie to the movie camera. That is, when the photography mode is changed from a movie photography mode to a still photography mode, it is preferable that the shutter speed is normally made faster than that at the movie photography mode, and a still is photographed under this condition.
As one of movie cameras, there has also been widespread use of a 8-mm video camera capable of easily photographing a movie. This type of 8-mm video camera has a lens whose effective aperture diameter d is less than or equal to 25 mm, and a zoom lens having a zoom ratio: at least 6.times. (times).
In a normally-used 35-mm compact camera, on the other hand, a focal distance f is equal to 260 mm (i.e., f=260 mm) during zooming at a 6.times. zoom ratio. When an effective aperture diameter d of a lens is set equal to 25 mm (i.e., d=25 mm), an F-number for indicating the brightness of the lens becomes about 11 (F=f/d).
When strobe photography is carried out by using the 35-mm compact camera under the condition that a guide number (G.N.) is 12 (standard sensitivity), a photographable maximum distance L is limited to about 1.1 m (L=G.N..div.F).
On the other hand, there has been a demand for the photography of a desired still as well as a movie in the 8-mm video camera. There has been a further demand for the photography of a still with stroboscopic flashing light even in the dark.
The present invention has been completed to meet with the above demands. Thus, the size of a screen can be extremely reduced if a 1/3-inch type CCD which has recently been developed is used. Therefore, a focal length f becomes 33 mm (i.e., f=33 mm) even if a lens having an effective aperture diameter (d=25 mm) identical to that referred to above is employed. Correspondingly, an F-number of the lens becomes about 1.4 (F=f/d). This is the point to which the present invention has paid attention.